In the packaging of food products, often times the packaging process generates heat that is conveyed to the food product. For example, the widespread use of heat shrinking for vacuum sealed packaged food products typically generates heat that is conveyed to the packaged food product. Moreover, the heating of such food products can: (a) decrease the shelf life of food products by accelerating the growth of bacteria; and (b) cause the vacuum sealed packaging to be less resistant to tears and punctures while in a heated condition. This is particularly problematic in the packaging of such foods as raw meat and fish, wherein it is common practice to package these food items by vacuum sealing in bags and subsequently heating the packages in, for example, a "shrink tunnel" for inducing the vacuum sealed bags to further shrink about their corresponding contained food product. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have an apparatus and method for immediately chilling such packaged foods exiting the packaging process (e.g., the shrink tunnel), wherein the chilling process chills but does not necessarily freeze the packaged food product and leaves each package substantially dry so that the packages can subsequently be packed, en masse, in, for example, paper or cardboard boxes for transport without box failure due to moisture.